though this isn't anything but normal anymore, i didn't know these big colleges internet systems were so fast! 
Internet2 researchers once demonstrated they can download a DVD-quality copy of the popular movie "The Matrix" in 30 seconds over their network, a feat they said would take roughly 25 hours over the Internet.
By staff and wire reports
Wednesday, April 13, 2005
Carnegie Mellon and University of Pittsburgh students who used the super-fast "Internet2" network to download pirated music and movies soon could face lawsuits by entertainment groups trying to stop the illegal practice.
The groups said Tuesday they intend to sue hundreds of students nationwide accused of illegally distributing copyrighted songs and films across college campuses using the private research network, which boasts speeds hundreds of times faster than the Internet.
How much faster? Internet2 researchers once demonstrated they can download a DVD-quality copy of the popular movie "The Matrix" in 30 seconds over their network, a feat they said would take roughly 25 hours over the Internet.
The Recording Industry Association of America, representing the biggest music labels, said it will file federal lawsuits today against 405 students at 18 colleges with access to the Internet2 network. The Motion Picture Association of America said it will file an unspecified number of lawsuits against Internet2 users.
The recording industry notified Carnegie Mellon University on Monday that it intends to sue 25 students, CMU spokesman Joel M. Smith said. Previous notices that arrived about a week ago said a total 37 students -- including the 25 -- could face legal action by the recording and motion picture groups.
"The university is not the target of the suits," Smith said.
The University of Pittsburgh wouldn't disclose how many students there could face lawsuits. "As in any legal proceeding, the university will comply with all legally sufficient subpoenas and will notify the affected parties in accordance with the law," Pitt said in a statement issued yesterday.
Internet2 is used by several million university students, researchers and professionals around the world, but is generally inaccessible to the public.
"We don't condone or support illegal file-sharing," said Internet2 Chief Executive Doug Van Houweling. "We've always understood that just like there is a lot of file-sharing going on on the public Internet, there's also some file-sharing going on on Internet2."
The recording industry said some students were illegally sharing across Internet2 as many as 13,600 music files -- far more than most Internet users -- and that the average number of songs offered illegally by the students was 2,300 each.
"We cannot let this high-speed network become a zone of lawlessness where the normal rules don't apply," said Cary Sherman, president of the recording association.
Van Houweling cautioned universities against filtering data to block illegal activity in ways that would slow the network's performance.
He said Internet2 does not attempt to screen illegal files from the vast amounts of data flowing over the network because of technical limitations and privacy concerns. He said Internet2 also enjoys liability protection in the courts as long as the organization can't be shown to be responsible for material flowing over the network.
"It's possible to attack this problem in ways that do compromise the performance," Van Houweling said.
Smith said all CMU students have access to Internet2 and that they are strongly warned about violating copyright laws. "We have a considerable interest in the protection of intellectual property. A lot of our students graduate and then engage in the protection of intellectual property," he said.
The lawsuits illustrate the aggressiveness of the entertainment industry in trying to stifle piracy even via up-and-coming technologies as it continues to individually sue thousands of computer users accused of sharing copyrighted songs and films over the public Internet.
The recording industry said the lawsuits also pierce the perception by Internet2 researchers that they operate in a closed environment that entertainment groups can't monitor.
The RIAA declined to explain how it could detect piracy over Internet2 except to say it acted lawfully. Internet2's corporate members include Warner Brothers Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Time Warner Inc., a leading music label.
CMU students weren't targeted in earlier rounds of lawsuits by entertainment groups, Smith said.
Initially, the groups identify alleged copyright violators only by numbers linked to their computers. The network administrator -- in this case, the university -- then is subpoenaed for violators' identities. The numbers cited in the groups' notices to CMU "are almost exclusively individually owned machines," Smith said.
Smith said the university's policy is to remove students who violate copyright laws on the standard Internet, as well as Internet2, from the network for 45 days. "At CMU, that's a pretty serious consequence," he said.
In addition to CMU and Pitt, the recording industry is going after students at Boston University, Columbia University, Drexel University, the Georgia Institute of Technology, Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Michigan State University, New York University, Ohio State University, Princeton University, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the Rochester Institute of Technology, the University of California-Berkeley, the University of California-San Diego, the University of Massachusetts-Amherst and the University of Southern California.
The recording industry said it also found evidence of illegal activity at 140 more schools in 41 states, and sent warning letters to university presidents.
Internet2 researchers once demonstrated they can download a DVD-quality copy of the popular movie "The Matrix" in 30 seconds over their network, a feat they said would take roughly 25 hours over the Internet.
By staff and wire reports
Wednesday, April 13, 2005
Carnegie Mellon and University of Pittsburgh students who used the super-fast "Internet2" network to download pirated music and movies soon could face lawsuits by entertainment groups trying to stop the illegal practice.
The groups said Tuesday they intend to sue hundreds of students nationwide accused of illegally distributing copyrighted songs and films across college campuses using the private research network, which boasts speeds hundreds of times faster than the Internet.
How much faster? Internet2 researchers once demonstrated they can download a DVD-quality copy of the popular movie "The Matrix" in 30 seconds over their network, a feat they said would take roughly 25 hours over the Internet.
The Recording Industry Association of America, representing the biggest music labels, said it will file federal lawsuits today against 405 students at 18 colleges with access to the Internet2 network. The Motion Picture Association of America said it will file an unspecified number of lawsuits against Internet2 users.
The recording industry notified Carnegie Mellon University on Monday that it intends to sue 25 students, CMU spokesman Joel M. Smith said. Previous notices that arrived about a week ago said a total 37 students -- including the 25 -- could face legal action by the recording and motion picture groups.
"The university is not the target of the suits," Smith said.
The University of Pittsburgh wouldn't disclose how many students there could face lawsuits. "As in any legal proceeding, the university will comply with all legally sufficient subpoenas and will notify the affected parties in accordance with the law," Pitt said in a statement issued yesterday.
Internet2 is used by several million university students, researchers and professionals around the world, but is generally inaccessible to the public.
"We don't condone or support illegal file-sharing," said Internet2 Chief Executive Doug Van Houweling. "We've always understood that just like there is a lot of file-sharing going on on the public Internet, there's also some file-sharing going on on Internet2."
The recording industry said some students were illegally sharing across Internet2 as many as 13,600 music files -- far more than most Internet users -- and that the average number of songs offered illegally by the students was 2,300 each.
"We cannot let this high-speed network become a zone of lawlessness where the normal rules don't apply," said Cary Sherman, president of the recording association.
Van Houweling cautioned universities against filtering data to block illegal activity in ways that would slow the network's performance.
He said Internet2 does not attempt to screen illegal files from the vast amounts of data flowing over the network because of technical limitations and privacy concerns. He said Internet2 also enjoys liability protection in the courts as long as the organization can't be shown to be responsible for material flowing over the network.
"It's possible to attack this problem in ways that do compromise the performance," Van Houweling said.
Smith said all CMU students have access to Internet2 and that they are strongly warned about violating copyright laws. "We have a considerable interest in the protection of intellectual property. A lot of our students graduate and then engage in the protection of intellectual property," he said.
The lawsuits illustrate the aggressiveness of the entertainment industry in trying to stifle piracy even via up-and-coming technologies as it continues to individually sue thousands of computer users accused of sharing copyrighted songs and films over the public Internet.
The recording industry said the lawsuits also pierce the perception by Internet2 researchers that they operate in a closed environment that entertainment groups can't monitor.
The RIAA declined to explain how it could detect piracy over Internet2 except to say it acted lawfully. Internet2's corporate members include Warner Brothers Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Time Warner Inc., a leading music label.
CMU students weren't targeted in earlier rounds of lawsuits by entertainment groups, Smith said.
Initially, the groups identify alleged copyright violators only by numbers linked to their computers. The network administrator -- in this case, the university -- then is subpoenaed for violators' identities. The numbers cited in the groups' notices to CMU "are almost exclusively individually owned machines," Smith said.
Smith said the university's policy is to remove students who violate copyright laws on the standard Internet, as well as Internet2, from the network for 45 days. "At CMU, that's a pretty serious consequence," he said.
In addition to CMU and Pitt, the recording industry is going after students at Boston University, Columbia University, Drexel University, the Georgia Institute of Technology, Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Michigan State University, New York University, Ohio State University, Princeton University, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the Rochester Institute of Technology, the University of California-Berkeley, the University of California-San Diego, the University of Massachusetts-Amherst and the University of Southern California.
The recording industry said it also found evidence of illegal activity at 140 more schools in 41 states, and sent warning letters to university presidents.
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